


And Then the Floodgates Opened

by Entropic_Wren



Series: "Every Time A Jaeger Falls" [4]
Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Other characters mentioned - Freeform, SO ANGST, character deaths mentioned, mentions of OCs - Freeform, naturally
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-03 09:35:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21177263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Entropic_Wren/pseuds/Entropic_Wren
Summary: Raleigh had tried to forget those faces… the voices he could pair with them. He tried to forget the memories that both would trigger. The past was a painful place and the future too bleak to turn to… survival and the now was where it was at these days.





	And Then the Floodgates Opened

**Author's Note:**

> So this was inspired by a post on tumblr I saw a bit ago.
> 
> There’s a use of oc’s in this to kinda build up the history that’s happened - but it’s focused on a glorious scene in the Pacific Rim Novelization that I wish had happened.
> 
> Warning: Angst be ahead. Honestly, it’s not that high in angsty but I shall still warn.

_“Hey, who wants to hear a joke?” _

_“What do Jaegers and my marriage have in common?” _

_“They both seemed like a good idea at the time, now they ain’t working, and they’re both still costing a fortune.”_

Raleigh had tried to forget those faces… the voices he could pair with them. He tried to forget the memories that both would trigger. The past was a painful place and the future too bleak to turn to… survival and the now was where it was at these days.

But congratulations to his asshole boss, the guy had managed to dig enough that it seemed the gate had opened up just enough to make it hard to focus on the now.

Miles had insulted the program. The thing Yancy had died for. You insult one, and you have insulted the other at the same time. Tommy might have been right when he said punching the asshole wasn’t worth losing his job… but the nagging part of his brain swore that Yancy was worth it.

He swore it even more relentlessly with that smug look Miles had sent his way. He wanted nothing more than to punch it off that mans face… It made it almost easy to hear the non-existent ‘easy there kid’ that his mind offered in Yancy’s voice.

He tried to move on and focus back on his rations but seemed like he had slipped down the rabbit hole. The image of Herc and Chuck Hansen had him remembering what he knew of the two, what he recalled of Sydney. Made him remember Yamarashi before once more he had to drag his mind back to the present.

Tommy’s question of _‘who can, in a world like this’_ in regards to having kids made Raleigh remember of the rangers who had. Pentecost who took a child under his wing, young girl years back… And then there was one who had one during the escalation of things… He barely knew anything of McRae due to their different postings but he could remember the dark-haired man cradling a tiny bundle letting out a soft chuckle as the baby gurgled – staring at her as if she was his entire world.

…Similarly he could recall the image on the TV of a Kaiju smashing through Liberator’s COMMPOD…

And maybe Pentecost’s appearance hadn’t done him any favours in remembering things….

But Miles’ second round of a joke definitely didn’t.

_“Oh hey, this reminds me – how many Jaegers does it take to change a light bulb? None! Cause these days, everybody knows they can’t change shit.”_

It was like that the floodgate opened fully, or the switch had been flipped as Raleigh’s grip on his beer tightened.

Memories of him and Yancy sharing a beer, led to almost hearing the deep breathy accented laugh followed by a ‘you Becket’s will be the death of me’ paired with amused blue eyes as the New Zealander dragged their potentially drunk asses back to base before the three of them were booted out of the academy. Raleigh hated the foreshadowing that held now… they signed the terms of Evan’s death to that day…

Thinking of Evan led to thinking of Waimarie. Was she alive? He didn’t have the heart to check after seeing the image of Kraken shoving it’s arm down the kaiju’s throat and blowing it up… that was a move of someone who had desperate.

Remembering of Waimarie meant remembering that fact that she was younger, she was younger who balanced education with fighting kaiju. It made him remember the parties that were held when she had finished her university course. The one time several Shatterdomes had their pilots in the same spot – definitely showing the found family most of them had become.

He remembering the Kaidonovksy’s handing Waimarie a shot of vodka and being amused when he watched her splutter after drinking it.

The Gage’s and Matador Fury’s pilots in a battle for the kitchen… well, at least there had been a lot of food resulting from that.

And suddenly he was remembering the time to Wei Tang triplets had returning one time with take out having told no one where they went. He remembered hearing Nova Hyperion’s pilots talk about their experience with the kaiju being their reason for signing up for the PPDC.

The twist in his gut tightened as his mind reminded him of a similar story and how that to Vanguard Haechi torn to shreds barely recoverable. Or Tacit Ronin cut in half laying in what was once a city and at that moment was only ruins.

As more memories flickered through his head at a fast pace, ending with the viivd image of Yancy being torn out of the COMM-POD, Raleigh silently looked to the beer in his hand as Miles reminded him of his ‘place’.

_“Easy boy, don’t forget I’m the one in charge here.”_

_ “Well then… let’s drink to that.”_

It was with that Raleigh made a move that probably would have had Yancy both proud and internally screaming, Evan wearily sigh, and a few other former fellow cadets turned rangers howl with laughter. Miles definitely didn’t see Raleigh slamming his face on a beer can coming.

**Author's Note:**

> Technically it isn't part of the "Every Time a Jaeger Falls" series, but I thought it was a nice way to wrap it up kinda???


End file.
